Northwest Maine - what's up with it? (Rumford, Dover-Foxcroft: living in, safe)

[kanhawk]

Do people living in the remote areas receive any roadside mail service or do they have to travel some distance to a post office box?

[fxtrader]

I heard a rumor that there might be a Mainer on an upcoming season of Mountain Men on the History Channel.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

In Northern Maine you often see a wooden rail beside the road with a dozen or more mailboxes. They will become much more common when rural delivery is cut back. Many rural post offices will soon close and others will be open fewer hours. I wish I could post photos here.

[SportFury59]

Reminds me....when I had a FedEx (Express) route in Northern Wisconsin up along the WI/UP border.

I'd usually find a unfamilar new address by following mail boxes. No trouble finding the box, but on a few occasions the physical residence would be a few miles away. The mailman wouldn't go any further than the box. And I couldn't leave the package by the mail box. I would drive into the woods to find the house.

The road probably turned into a "private" one after that mail box point and I don't think the Postal Service has to deliver on the private roads. Probably got a lot to do with road maintenance.

[rickfrosty]

Originally Posted by RomaniGypsy

Reading maps of Maine, I see a big fat lot of NOTHING in the northwest section of the state. There are a bunch of seemingly very long roads that say "private road - permit and fee required", and NO TOWNS. What's up with that? Do people actually own land up there, in small tracts, or do the few landowners represented up there own like tens of thousands of acres?

If there are no towns, is there no property tax either?

I'm talking about places like northern Piscataquis County, western Aroostook County, etc. It seems like people only inhabit maybe 50% of Maine's surface area. Go to the main City-Data page for Maine, click on "All Towns and Villages" to show all of those markers on the state map, and look at the area that has no markers at all. That's what I'm talking about.

Can anyone tell me about that area?

Yes, it is owned by paper companies & such, thousands of acre parcels, and it is open to public uses, but they may gate roads.
They pay tax to the state, but to own large parcels of timberland it is under 'tree-growth' tax status - much lower . They have to have it 'open', but you can't sue if you get hurt on someone's land, etc...
I just bought 100+ acres to turn into a farm/retreat & will get the required forrester's harvest plan (or in my case - non-harvest plan) and designate 4 to 6 acres for building on, then apply for the lower tree-growth tax status. Taxes w/nothing on it now are under $900 .
Outside of the organised townships it is nearly impossible to get subdivision permission to sell lots.
ME decided a few years back to really put the brakes on development.
Many tiny organised villages can be surrounded by thousands of acres of huge privately owned but open to public use lands - hunting, fishing, sno-mo, ATV use, hiking, foraging, collecting mushrooms, etc., etc. - - - I am a realtor in the most NW corner - near both Quebec & NH .
A very safe corner of maybe the safest (depending on what site you look at ?) state !!!

[slyfox2]

Originally Posted by rickfrosty

A very safe corner of maybe the safest (depending on what site you look at ?) state !!!

You can tell those of us who moved here "from (FAR) away". We lock our houses and cars. Mainers don't do that, except maybe during tourist season.

[rickfrosty]

Originally Posted by slyfox2

You can tell those of us who moved here "from (FAR) away". We lock our houses and cars. Mainers don't do that, except maybe during tourist season.

I leave my car not only unlocked, but running when I go into the post office. My mother's house was never (never) locked from 1903 until about 2003 when they began to go to Fla. for the winter, and until something like that time they left the keys in the car all the time (except possibly on a trip to the big cities of Farmington or Augusta) ('Gustah') .
It's a good idea to lock ya cah in August though, because you might come back & find it full of Zuccini ?

[Submariner]

Since this thread is about "Northwest Maine" I am curious. To me I would say that "Northwest Maine" would extend from 'Big Twenty' Township down to maybe Jackman.

How far South would folks be willing to go with the label "Northwest" before it really is just Southern Maine?

Likewise how far East?

[Coaster]

Originally Posted by Submariner

Since this thread is about "Northwest Maine" I am curious. To me I would say that "Northwest Maine" would extend from 'Big Twenty' Township down to maybe Jackman.

How far South would folks be willing to go with the label "Northwest" before it really is just Southern Maine?

Likewise how far East?

West of I-95/Route 11 and north of Dover-Foxcroft/Greenville/Jackman, altho some folks might go as far south as Rumford. All IMHO of course.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by Coaster

West of I-95/Route 11 and north of Dover-Foxcroft/Greenville/Jackman, altho some folks might go as far south as Rumford. All IMHO of course.

Rumford is so far South, way below the center of the state. That surprises me.

That would be like calling Rangeley 'North' or 'North West' when it is so clearly just South of any mid-way line you would draw.